The Liberty Daily 
(The Epoch Times)—The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization announced on Tuesday that it would start the evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors who were stranded in the Middle East this year due to the war between the United States and Iran.
“This large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal States in the region, the United States, and the maritime industry,” the group’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said in a statement.
The operation will be carried out in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” he added. “We remain fully committed to ensuring the safety of seafarers and the continuity of global trade.”
For months, the Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut down by Iranian forces in response to U.S. military strikes targeting the country that started on Feb. 28. The Trump administration and Iranian regime signed a memorandum of understanding last week that, in part, would open the strait, which on a normal day carries around a fifth of the world’s traded oil.
In the meantime, the U.S. military imposed a blockade on Iranian ports starting in mid-April. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that with the signing of the memorandum, the U.S. military would allow ships to travel to and from Iran.
Dominguez added in the Tuesday statement that the month-long closure of the strait created “hardship and distress for thousands of innocent seafarers, and a negative impact for the whole world.”
He also praised the signing of the memo, which he said will allow for the crafting of a “peace agreement concluded between the United States and Iran, marking a decisive step towards restoring maritime security and bringing to an end the unacceptable attacks against civilian shipping.”
Trump said on Tuesday that inspectors with the United Nations will visit Iranian nuclear sites and refuted a statement from the country’s foreign ministry.
“They’re wrong,” he told reporters in Pennsylvania, referring to the Iranians. “They’re wrong. They know they’re wrong. They told us inside, and we have it down, 100 percent inspections.”
Iran and U.S. negotiations began in Switzerland over the weekend.
When asked when U.N. inspections would start, Trump said they would occur “at the appropriate time” and stressed that “there’s no rush.”
Trump again responded to critics of the deal between the United States and Iran, including some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have said the agreement gives Iran significant benefits, while getting little immediately in exchange.
“I think anybody that’s been critical of it has to be educated—even if they’re friends of mine,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday that it will keep two aircraft carriers positioned in the Middle East and has been issuing updates on X about its activity, including military flights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
